Dissappointed in the "toughness" of the iphone 4 screen.

frog99 wrote:
How is this 20x stronger than normal glass again?

Have you compared its strength to that of a sheet of normal glass of the same thickness?

I'm sure Apple has, thus the claim.

as i posted in a different thread,
something else most people don't realize is that while apple claims the class is 30 times harder then plastic, if you drop your phone, it is being subjected to IMPACT forces. I have a degree in industrial ceramics (yes, glass is part of the ceramics industry), and i can tell you from personal experience, you but a piece of glass (ceramic material) under pressure in a slow, incremental fashion, and a piece of the exact same material, and subject it to a sledge hammer, even tho the sledge may exert less total pressure/force, the material is under two completely different forces, and will NOT react the same. This new iphone 4 glass may be "amazing super glass that cant be scratched" but its impact strength is about as good as any cheap glass you find at a local diner, very little. A great example more people will understand would be those little safety hammers made to break a car window out in a crash. You can push pretty hard against that car window, and it not break, (assuming no defects within the glass) but tap it with that little hammer and it shatters to pieces, impact strength.

cherubaal wrote:
as i posted in a different thread,
something else most people don't realize is that while apple claims the class is 30 times harder then plastic, if you drop your phone, it is being subjected to IMPACT forces. I have a degree in industrial ceramics (yes, glass is part of the ceramics industry), and i can tell you from personal experience, you but a piece of glass (ceramic material) under pressure in a slow, incremental fashion, and a piece of the exact same material, and subject it to a sledge hammer, even tho the sledge may exert less total pressure/force, the material is under two completely different forces, and will NOT react the same. This new iphone 4 glass may be "amazing super glass that cant be scratched" but its impact strength is about as good as any cheap glass you find at a local diner, very little. A great example more people will understand would be those little safety hammers made to break a car window out in a crash. You can push pretty hard against that car window, and it not break, (assuming no defects within the glass) but tap it with that little hammer and it shatters to pieces, impact strength.

Not many people understand the differences in material properties which leads to unrealistic expectations, unfortunately.

I suggest Apple create 2 lines of iPhones in the future, one with plastic screens and one with glass screens.

Message was edited by: Melvin C

Ian Parkinson wrote:
Or you could just be more careful and look after your items.
It is your responsibility, you dropped it.
How do Apple know it was not thrown from a 3rd floor window?

Warranty is for Manufacturing defects and faults.
Insurance is for accidental damage, theft, loss.

This is a terrible answer I am sorry. His comments were valid in that the phone should be able to take a shock of a reasonable nature. Yes, no matter what if the phone lands in just the wrong way no matter what it can shatter the glass. That is just the way it goes. But let's not immediately assume that we're all perfect and no one has accidents.

That being said, given the glass nature even being careful I would slap a case on the phone as soon as possible.

Message was edited by: Canadianpj

frog99 wrote:
It really is sad how weak the glass is. After a small drop in which the phone landed directly on its face, not only did the front screen shatter but the back even has small cracks in it. How is this 20x stronger than normal glass again? The worst part is there are no decent cases available.

I would recommend the Speck PixelSkin case type (and no I do not work for or have any relations to the company). I really like it as it gives the phone some bounce on the sides but more importantly it give it a lip on the front so if it were to land face down, it does not land directly on the GLASS itself. This to me is a must have for any case that it protects from dropping it face down.

kevin3494 wrote:
there is no insurance available for the iphones.

My wife and I just got the iPhone 4s. I called Worth Avenue Group out of Oklahoma and purchased insurance for them. It covers accidental damage, water damage, theft and loss. Heres their link: www.worthavegroup.com. Its not cheap, but its about the same price as I used to pay Sprint over a year for my Treo.

Apple is the master at advertising. The material may be stronger than some other material but they never tell you that it is more brittle = breakable. Glass is glass - it will break easier than plastic but most likely will not scratch nearly as easy and that is what I feel Apple was flaunting in their advertising.

On the other hand I have never owned a phone that was not susceptible to breakage after falling to the ground. Remember these things are not made like a rubber bouncing ball.

I got a small crack in mine and I read on some of these forums that some Apple stores were replacing phones with cracked screens so I thought I'd try it. Sure enough. They replaced my phone with a brand new one at no cost. This was on 07/07. I was told the boss decided to cover it because, "The glass should have been stronger than that." He said that because I didn't actually drop my phone to get the crack. I had the phone in my pocket with NOTHING else but my Apple headphones. It must have been the headphone jack because you could see a small chip and then the crack. Kind of like a car windshield. Good luck to all of you who crack your screen.

If the phone is still working OK, I'd just put it in a case, use it, and wait for a good deal on replacement parts. Since you broke the back glass, I've heard it's easy to replace (two screws), and certainly won't cost anywhere near $200!
Be careful, and be glad it wasn't the front glass (expensive and difficult to replace).

Insanity!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


"I suggest Apple create 2 lines of iPhones in the future, one with plastic screens and one with glass screens."

klwzscale wrote:
....

On the other hand I have never owned a phone that was not susceptible to breakage after falling to the ground. Remember these things are not made like a rubber bouncing ball.

Really? I guess it depends on how you mean 'breakage'. I and many others have dropped many different phones including iPhones and had no more than a dent in a corner and some scratches. Always a bummer the first time, but not a big deal and the phone still works just fine.

I think many falsely thought that with this durable glass the new iPhone would be as durable as previous iPhones -- now they are starting to know better.

http://ipartsrepair.com/iPhone-4-Parts_c17.htm

Parts are already available.

Would be nice if Apple offered some protection. I have had every model iPhone and been happy with all; however, I have never taken a my phone out of the store without some protection. When I went in the store this time, the first thing they offered was the Applecare, I said yes and said that I also needed a case. I was informed that they have been out of cases since early morning. How do you not know how many case you need. You know how any phone you have, shouldn't the amount of cases needed be a percentage of the phones? Apple should have the statistics as to how many people who buy phones buy accessories. If not, they need to hire me: because it is not difficult to calculate.

Canadianpj wrote:
This is a terrible answer I am sorry. His comments were valid in that the phone should be able to take a shock of a reasonable nature. Yes, no matter what if the phone lands in just the wrong way no matter what it can shatter the glass. That is just the way it goes. But let's not immediately assume that we're all perfect and no one has accidents.

What's reasonable to one person is abuse to another.

If a baseball breaks a window, one could argue that windows, being subject to impact by baseballs, should always be made to be able to take a baseball impact.

One can argue that phones should be able to survive being dropped without damage, but in reality most consumer devices only survive such impacts out of luck, not design.

Your best defense is, of course, an impact-absorbing case of some type.